Earth
.]] Orbital Defense Platforms in geosynchronous orbit around Earth.]] ''.]] , built to protect humanity, opens in 2552 during the Second Battle of Earth.]] '''Earth' is the third planet in the Sol System and is the home planet of the human race, as well as many other various animals. Introduction Earth consists of seven geological continents, which offer a myriad of different meterological and geological climates, which are home to a significant diverse population of animals, all of which are believed to be carbon-based lifeforms. It was formed 4.6 billion years ago. Earth holds significant oceans and bodies of fresh and salt water, and also a mostly nitrogen atmosphere, although it contains oxygen to facilitate aerobic respiration. History The Earth gave rise to single-celled organisms about 3.5 billion years ago. Later, a certain species of exceptional intelligence came to rise, Homo sapiens, otherwise known as the Human race, 200,000 years ago. The enigmatic race known as the Forerunners are believed to have came to Earth 100,000 years ago, making significant contributions to the human race, and are believed to have made a "Conversation Measure"http://www.bungie.net/fanclub/118020/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=12360308 to conserve the human race from the threat of the Flood, and have built The Ark in Africa, where the Forerunner intelligence of AdjutantReflex resideshttp://206.16.223.61/X84xE2/flash/web/index.html. The Forerunners were also seen constructing "machines" in AfricaHalo 3: The Cradle of Life. Later, humans eventually began to show signs of sentience and began to form firstly tribes then countries then empires and after thousands of years of wars against one another a governing body of sorts was formed with the UN in 1945. By 1961 man had reached space and in 1969 had finally stepped on an extrterrestial surface, humanity then entered an era of peace (pockmarked with small conflicts) that was not broken until 2160. After years of overcrowding on Earth and the other planets in the sol system, dissident factions emerged. The Neo-Communist Koslovics and Pro-Fascist Frieden movement began to battle one another and the United Nations. in March-June Jovian secessionist attacked United Nations Colonial Advisors on the moon Io led to three months of fighting between the Earth military and Jovian "Frieden" forces. National Goverments began to support their own Colonies which began in a proxy wars off planet, leading to tension and militarization on Earth. in 2162 armed conflict ripped through South America, starting the Rain Forest Wars, as Koslovic, Frieden, and UN forces all clashed over ideological differences, sparking additional conflicts off-planet. In December of 2163 The three factions clashed, this time on Mars. This was the first extraterrestial use of Marines, who launched lightening raids on Koslovics positions, permentally effecting military doctrine for centuries. in 2164 UN forces begin a massive military build-up and begin the first true interplanetary war. The UNSC are bolstered by a massive propganda campaign running on the victories on Mars and in the next six years take back the sol system and drive the dissident factions to destruction. Now with a massive military with no enemy to fight, overpopulation, famine and a collpasing population, the unified Earth faced trouble. It wasn't until 2291 that this problem was solved when researchers created the Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace Drive and gained access to Slipspace. In 2310 the UNSC unveil their first line of colony ships and the best and brightest from both civillian walks of life and the military go out to form the Inner Colonies. This eased the overpopulation problem upon Earth and it became the capital of the Colonial Administration Authority while the inner colony of Reach became the HQ of the UNSC. It remained peaceful until insurrections began to open up in the outer colonies, flaring up a number of conflicts, promoting the creation of the SPARTAN-IIs but all this was canceled by their first meeting with the alien alliance known as the Covenant. After contact at Harvest in 2525 the Covenant systematically beat humans back to Earth in just over 25 years, with their last victory upon Earth's doorstep, Reach on September the 4th, 2552. On October the 20th they launched their first attack upon Earth, now ready for a final stand against the Covenant.http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/h/halo/storyline.htm Halo: The Fall of Reach Halo 2 Pre-First Battle of Earth Prior to the first attempt to invade Earth there had been a supressed influx of information by ONI, resulting in people going about their normal lives even up until the attack. The forces disposition at Earth was heavy, with the Second Fleet, Seventh Fleet, the Sixteenth Fleet and the 6th Battle Group along with large amounts of Marines and ODSTs present, four SPARTAN-IIs, Admiral Hood and Earth's major feature, three hundred Orbital Defense Platforms, each sporting a Mk. V "Super" MAC. Also there where numerous human colonies on various moons, a large naval shipyard and factories at Mars and a listening post at Io. First Battle of Earth On October 20th, 2552, the first Covenant forces entered the Sol system. A expeditionary force of 13 CCS-class Battlecruisers and 2 Assault Carriers appeared in system, first detected around Io, the second largest moon of Jupiter. After confirmed by probes the UNSCDF forces went to full alert. They option was taken to wait for the Covenant forces to come to them rather than let Fleet Admiral Harper launch a counter attack. The Covenant began to work on punching a hole through the iron ring of the MAC defences by taking out the stations in the battle cluster above the Mediterranean. Both that Athens and the Malta station fell but thanks to the efforts of John-117 who was on for an awards ceremony at the time the bomb was disarmed. After the Covenant fleet attempted to rush the newly formed gap the UNSC fleet annihilated them, destroying all the Battlecruisers but failing to destory the Assault Carriers, though one was sabotaged during it's descent to Earth. One broke through, carrying the Prophet of Regret and assault the city of Mombasa in Kenya. On the ground members of "A" Company of the 405th Marine Infantry Division from Diego Garcia launched the first counter attack and defence of the city and took severe casualties but held their ground. More reinforcements were brought in from the UNSC Frigate In Amber Clad, including Marines, members of the 7th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Battalion and the Master Chief, along with Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson. They succesfully pushed the Covenant back from Old Mombassa then delivered more casualties as they hunted down one of the attacking Scarab walkers. After its destruction a general retreat was called by Regret who began to instigate a slipspace jump inside the city. The In Amber Clad followed as Mombassa was devasted by the slip space jump and left a empty crater behind it. Second Battle of Earth and Hornet fliers surround a recently grounded Covenant Loyalist Scarab.]] After Regret's disaterous attack and retreat the Covenant forces came in full strength, now bringing their full armada to bare down upon Earth. More and more gaps formed in the MAC defences with Covenant forces attack Mount Erebus, the sea floor of the Yucatan peninsula and the Centennial Orbital Elevator in Havana, Cuba, this attacks however were pushed back thanks to the actions of the three SPARTANS on Earth who remained in active duty. However in Kenya the Covenant forces focused their attacks, securing massive areas through out the country and devastating the remaining marines. The tide began to turn as the Forerunner Dreadnaught that recently escaped from High Charity arrived, carrying with it the Master Chief, back from the Battle of Installation 05. In the events of Halo: Uprising he gets off at Io Station and returns to Earth where the events of Halo 3 begin. Upon the surface he reunites with Marine forces and then meets The Arbiter and after a initial missunderstanding they unite and begin to fight across the wastelands of Kenya. After through the jungles he reached a UNSC base under attack. After an initial defence he, along with marine forces moved down the Tsavo Highway to the position where Covenant vessels were destroying the surface of the Earth to reveal The Ark, an ancient Forerunner artifact buried under the Earth for untold millenia. After that they attacked the Covenant held town of Voi, neutralising the heavy garrison and a Scarab walker then procedded to disable the anti air emplacments there, allowing UNSC forces including the ex Commander of the In Amber Clad, Miranda Keyes, to slip past to the Ark site. Earth locations Planetside Africa transitioning to Slipspace over New Mombasa, causing a slipspace cataclysm that destroyed the city.]] *Republic of Kenya **Mombasa - First landing site of Covenant forces on Earth, destroyed in ensuing attack and retreat during the First Battle of Earth. ***New Mombasa ****New Mombasa Orbital Elevator ***Old Mombasa **Voi - A town further inland from Mombassa and a source of major battles during the Second Battle of Earth *Diego Garcia - Island in the Indian Ocean and a major UNSC base. *United Republic of Tanzania **Zanzibar Island - Location of Wind Power Station 7 Oceania *Commonwealth of Australia **Sydney, Australia ***HighCom Facility Bravo-6 - Home of HIGHCOM and HQ of the UNSC. ***Sydney Synthetic Intellect Institute - A.I. research institute. Asia *Korea **Kyonggi Province ***Songnam ****Special Warfare Center - Testing and training area, famous for testing the MJOLNIR MK VI and the C and V variants North America *United States of America **Boston, Massachusetts ***Chawla Base - An ONI base that housed the artifact from I Love Bees **Chicago, Illinois ***Industrial Zone 08 ****Tactical Autonomous Robotic Defense System **New York City, New York **Commonwealth of Kentucky *Mexico **Base Segundo Terra - Mexico City, Mexico. Used as the staging area on the attacks on the Yucatan Peninsula and Havana. *Republic of Cuba **Havana ***Centennial Orbital Elevator - A 200 year old antiquated Space Elevator that was destroyed during the Second Battle of Earth. Europe *Federal Republic of Germany **Essen ***Beweglichrüstungsysteme Testing Facility - Testing site of the C Variant MJOLNIR MK. VI Antarctica *Ross Island **Mount Erebus - Site of a Covenant attack during the Second Battle of Earth. Orbital *''Athens Station'' - A ODP defending Earth, destroyed by borders in the First Battle of Earth. *''Cairo Station'' - A ODP defending Earth. It was the command center of Earth's Defence by Admiral Hood. *''Malta Station'' - A ODP defending Earth, destroyed by borders in the First Battle of Earth. *''Nassau Station'' - A ODP trapped in the 21st century by a slipspace "bubble". *Station Wayward Rest - Termination point of the COE. Destroyed during the Second Battle of Earth. Luna *Luna OCS Academy - Training center of Naval personnel. Sources Category:UNSC Category:Places Category:Planets Sources Category:UNSC Category:Places Category:Planets